1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication technology, and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a constant drive within the semiconductor industry to increase the quality, reliability and throughput of integrated circuit devices, (e.g., microprocessors, memory devices, and the like. This drive is fueled by consumer demands for higher quality computers and electronic devices that operate more reliably. These demamnds have resulted in a continual improvement in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, e.g., transistors, as well as in the manufacture of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors. Additionally, reducing the defects in the manufacture of the components of a typical transistor also lowers the overall cost per transistor as well as the cost of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors.
The technologies underlying semiconductor processing tools have attracted increased attention over the last several years, resulting in substantial refinements. However, despite the advances made in this area, many of the processing tools that are currently commercially available suffer certain deficiencies. In particular, such tools; often lack advanced process data monitoring capabilities, such as the ability to provide historical parametric data in a user-friendly format, as well as event logging, real-time graphical display of both current processing parameters and the processing parameters of the entire run, and remote, ie., local site and worldwide, monitoring. These deficiencies can engender nonoptimal control of critical processing parameters, such as throughput accuracy, stability and repeatability, processing temperatures, mechanical tool parameters, and the like. This variability manifests itself as within-run disparities, run-to-run disparities and tool-to-tool disparities that can propagate into deviations in product quality and performance, whereas an ideal monitoring and diagnostics system for such tools would provide a mean of monitoring this variability, as well as providing means for optimizing control of critical parameters.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or it least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for manufacturing, the method including processing a workpiece in a processing step, detecting defect data after the processing of the workpiece in the processing step has begun and forming an output signal corresponding to at least one type of defect based on the defect data. The method also includes feeding back a control signal based on the output signal to adjust the processing performed in the processing step to reduce the at least one type of defect.